Manchester United ready to make £42 million move for defender admired by Erik ten Hag: Reports

Manchester United are allegedly willing to launch a move to rope in Bayern Munich defender Matthijs de Ligt in the summer transfer window.

De Ligt, who joined the Bavarians in a move worth up to £68 million from Juventus in 2022, suffered a drop in his team's pecking order in the 2023-24 campaign. The Ajax youth product started 23 of his 30 appearances across competitions, scoring twice along the way.

Now, according to Sky Germany journalist Florian Plettenberg, Manchester United have earmarked De Ligt as one of their defensive targets alongside Leny Yoro and Jarrad Branthwaite. Red Devils manager Erik ten Hag is still a huge admirer of the Dutch centre-back.

De Ligt, whose has three years left on his Bayern Munich deal, is expected to hold talks about his future with his team after the UEFA Euro 2024. The 24-year-old ex-Juventus star is valued at over £42 million.

During his time at Ajax, De Ligt lifted the Eredivisie title and the KNVB Beker under Ten Hag's helm. He scored eight goals and laid out five assists in 70 games across all competitions under the Dutch manager.

Manchester United keen to sign Uruguayan midfielder this summer, confirms journalist

In his Daily Briefing column for Caught Offside, journalist Fabrizio Romano claimed that Manchester United are currently monitoring Uruguay and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) star Manuel Ugarte. He revealed:

"Ugarte has chances to leave PSG this summer, so let's see what happens, but I don't have any guaranteed info on the other players discussed, so at the moment I'm not in the position to mention specific names. All I can say for now is that I'm told they discussed several opportunities, including Ugarte who's appreciated by United. No bid has been sent yet, but interest is genuine."

Claiming that United are on good terms with PSG, Romano concluded:

"The relationship between the two clubs is very good, so let's see what happens with Ugarte and if any other players get involved too. United know that several players like Casemiro and Christian Eriksen could be on the move this summer, while they still have to decide what they want to do with the future of on-loan midfielder Sofyan Amrabat, and so midfield is an area they're looking at."

Since joining PSG from Sporting CP for over £51 million past summer, Ugarte has contributed three assists in 37 overall outings for his club.

Should the 23-year-old join Manchester United, he would start in Erik ten Hag's 4-2-3-1 system as a ball-winner alongside Kobbie Mainoo.